Sewing button hopper



y 3, 1955 R. E. FOWLER SEWING BUTTON HOPPER Filed Oct. 28, 1952 n llilll gl llll N INWENTOR. Roy E. Few/6r ATTD RN EYE United States Patent SEWING BUTTON HOPPER Roy E. Fowler, Watkinsville, Ga.

Application October 28, 1952, Serial No. 317,207

1 Claim. (Cl. 221184) This invention relates to a hopper, and more particularly to a hopper for holding and dispensing a quantity of buttons.

The object of the invention is to provide a button hopper which is adapted to be supplied with a quantity of buttons whereby upon actuation of the hopper the buttons will be discharged therefrom right side up to a sewing machine.

Another object of the invention is to provide a sewing button hopper which includes a housing having a cover detachably mounted thereon so that the cover or lid can be removed when additional buttons are to be placed in the hopper, there being a rotatable plate arranged in the hopper and a chute leading from the hopper to the sewing machine, the hopper of the present invention being constructed so that a large number of buttons will be supplied to the sewing machine chute right side up.

A further object of the invention is to provide a sewing button hopper which is extremely simple and inexpensive to manufacture.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent during the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this application, and in which like numerals are used to designate like parts throughout the same:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view taken through the hopper, constructed according to the present invention.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 22 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 33 of Figure 2.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the numeral designates a base which may be fabricated of any suitable material, and the base 10 includes a horizontally disposed portion 11. Extending outwardly from the base 10 is an annular flange 12, Figure 1. The base 10 is provided with a central opening 14 through which projects a shaft 15 and the shaft 15 may be actuated or driven by any suitable source of power.

The outer end of the shaft 15 is threaded exteriorly as at 16, and a vertically disposed rotatable plate 17 is mounted on the end of the shaft 15. Thus, as the shaft 15 rotates the plate 17 will be rotated therewith.

Interposed between the plate 17 and the base 10 is a washer or disc 18, and mounted on the outer threaded portion 16 of the shaft 15 is a conical shaped nut 19. The nut 19 serves to maintain the parts in their assembled relationship with respect to each other.

Arranged adjacent the plate 17 is an annular body member 20, and the body member 20 is provided with a pair of annular concentrically arranged grooves or passageways 21 and 22. Suitable slots 23 which are radially disposed, serve to interconnect the grooves 21 and 22 together so that the buttons B can pass therethrough.

The flange 12 is provided with a cut-out 24, and communicating with the cut-out 24 is a chute 25. The buttons B when they are right side up, pass from the groove n in 21, through the slots 23 into the groove or passageway 22. From the passageway or groove 22, the buttons B pass through the cut-out 24 and then through the chute 25 by gravity to the sewing machine. In this manner the buttons B will be delivered right side up to the sewing machine ready to be sewed onto the cloth or other material.

A plurality of suitable securing elements such as screws 26 are provided for connecting the body member 20 to the plate 17. Supported on the body member 20 and connected thereto is a casing or housing 27. The portion of the housing 27 is adapted to be connected to the body member 20 by suitable securing elements such as bolts or screws 28. Suitable bafiles 29 are arranged inwardly of the housing 27 for guiding the buttons within the hopper. A suitable lid or cover 30 is removably mounted on the outer end of the housing 27 and the cover 30 may be removed when the housing 27 is to be refilled with buttons. It is to be noted that the hopper of the present invention operates in a vertical position.

From the foregoing, it is apparent that a hopper has been provided which will insure that a plurality of buttons are automatically and continuously fed to a sewing machine. The buttons can be loaded into the housing 27 of the hopper by removing the cover 30 and then upon actuation or rotation of the shaft 15 the plate 17 and body member 20 will be rotated. This rotation permits the buttons to enter the groove 21 and pass through the slots 23 only if the buttons are right side up. In the event that the buttons are not able to pass through the slots 23, then the buttons will continue to be shuflled and intermixed in the housing 27 until they are able to enter the groove 21 and pass through the slots 23 into the groove 22. The buttons in the groove 22 are then automatically fed through the cut-out 24 to the chute 25 and from the chute 25 the buttons B can be fed to the sewing machine.

Thus, after the buttons leave the hopper of the present invention they will be in the correct position to be immediately sewed on the cloth or other material. As the plate 17 and body member 20 are rotated by the shaft 15 the buttons in groove 21 pass through the slots 23 providing the buttons are right side up. The slots 23 are so shaped as shown in Figure 3 that the buttons cannot pass therethrough unless they are right side up. Those buttons which are not in the correct position will remain in the groove 21 and will eventually be carried back to the interior of the housing 27 to be reshuffled. Thus, rotation of the parts will clean the slots 23 of any buttons which were not turned to the right position. The chute 25 on becoming filled with buttons will not hamper the operation of the hopper, because the buttons B will merely be deposited in the groove 22. By removing the screws 28 access can be gained to the body member 20 so that other sizes of body members can be inserted to accommodate different sizes and shapes of buttons. By means of the present invention a large number of buttons can be turned to their proper position ready to be sewed onto cloth or other material.

I claim:

A sewing button hopper comprising a vertically disposed base provided with a central opening, a horizontally disposed annular flange extending outwardly from the outer periphery of said base, a shaft extending through said opening and provided with an outer exteriorly threaded end, a circular plate arranged within said base and connected to said shaft, a disc interposed between said plate and base, a conical shaped nut arranged in threaded engagement with the outer end of said shaft, an annular body member supported on said plate and detachably connected thereto, there being first and second concentrically arranged grooves arranged in said body member, there being a plurality of radially extending slots interconnecting said grooves together, said flange being provided with a cut-out, a chute connected to said flange for receiving the buttons from said cut-out, a housing detachably connected to said flange, a plurality of balfier arranged in said housing, and a cover removably mounted on said housing.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Hall Jan. 31, 1893 Edwards et al H Aug. 21, 1923 Ross Nov. 9, 1926 Mortus Nov. 20, 1928 Lyons May 17, 1932 

